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Soundmatters foxLo subwoofer adds umph to your FoxL v2 Bluetooth speaker, 'fits in your palm'
Soundmatters may not be the first company to ever introduce a subwoofer with a small footprint, but at this year's CES, its new foxLo is taking the claim of being the "world's first palm-sized" on. The 25-watt unit can hook into the subwoofer output of a foxL V2 Bluetooth speakers or any other devices with 3.5mm outputs, thanks to its "full pass audio out" jack. Aside from injecting low-end into your mini-rig with its "Magnetic Drive woofer," the 'Lo can also recharge your gadgets with its built-in USB port. Sadly, however, the gizmo itself only operates on wall-power, putting a damper on any mobility offered by its Bluetooth brethren. Operation limited to a volume control for dialing in an optimal amount of bass, and an LED to indicate power. If you're already hungering to add on a thumpy fidelity boost to your smaller speakers (and refuse to be swoon by a solid set of headphones), the foxLo's set to go on sale this spring for about $149. Full press release after the break.
Nokia CEO: cheap Windows Phones can come 'very quickly'
We'd raised our own concerns in interviews with both Stephen Elop and Microsoft's Aaron Woodman in the past week that Nokia could have difficulty pushing the Windows Phone platform low enough to fill the holes left by Symbian's departure in the bottom rungs of the market, but the Nokia CEO is making it very clear that he thinks that won't be a problem. In a talk with Finnish journalists on Friday, Elop said that it has become "convinced" that it can hit "a very low price point" and do it "very quickly," a strategy that will be key to converting significant swaths of Symbian market share into Windows Phone market share without losing it to other manufacturers or platforms. Of course, something tells us the leaked design concept (pictured right) doesn't represent the types of hardware Nokia has in mind for those low price points -- but no single device or market segment is going to take Espoo to the promised land here.
Orange launches OLED-donning San Francisco, doesn't break the Android piggy bank
Oh snap! This is exactly what Nokia needs right now -- another cheap Android handset to gobble up its wallet-friendly stronghold. What we're looking at here is Orange's oddly named San Francisco, a £99 ($154) pay-as-you-go Eclair handset crafted by ZTE. Much like its humble sibling Racer, Orange's 4.6-ounce offering is loaded with a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset, 3.2 megapixel camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM radio, and MicroSD expansion. Yet for the same price, the San Francisco somehow comes with a larger 3.5-inch 480 x 800 OLED capacitive touchscreen. This sure sounds like a tempting deal, but don't whip out your credit card just yet -- we'll give you a yay or nay once we've seen how the phone fares in real life. For now, check out the official promo video after the break.
Ask Engadget: Best non-netbook laptop for around $400?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Todd, who's looking to snap up a solid cheap laptop (for his father-in-law, no less!) before that fateful Friday in December. Have a look below and hand out some Christmas cheer, won't you? "My father-in-law is heading back to school in the spring and wants a laptop for Christmas. The only catch is their budget is around $400 and he does not want a netbook. He's not very "tech savvy" at all and doesn't need a hoss of a machine (not that $400 could get you one). We would like to get it for him as soon as possible and would love some input. Thanks for any help and Happy Holidays!" We've already penned our laptop gift guide for 2009, but we understand the desire to get more input for this particular scenario. It's tough to find a sub-$400 machine that's not a netbook (and not a total heap), but we're confident that one or two gems are out there. Spill it if you know it, cool?
Motorola prepping new low-end WX series?
Motorola's already got a low-end series whose members are identified with the letter W at the start of the model name (take T-Mobile's W233 Renew, for instance), so we're not sure if they'll be going away or if Moto wants to slot in another ultra-low-end range below it -- but one way or another, mobil.cz seems to have the inside line on a new WX series that's on its way to market. We're talking about seriously basic stuff here: tiny cameras, little to no internal storage, small displays, and in the case of the one model mobil.cz supposedly has full details on -- the WX395 -- just dual-band GPRS data on board. Who knew component vendors still made EDGE-less 2G chipsets? No word on availability for these, but we don't think these are the kinds of phones you cross off days on a calendar for anyhow.
Nokia rolls out 2720, 2730, and 7020 on the low end
Nokia has a tendency to roll out its low-end fare in big batches -- you might think of it as the polar opposite of, say, an NTT DoCoMo launch -- and the trend continues with today's announcement of the 2720, 2730, and 7020 (try saying that three times fast). The theme here is bringing internet capabilities to the very bottom-most reaches of the market, and indeed, all three devices offer email and basic web access. Starting with the 2720, you've got a super-basic clamshell with a mirrored finish that'll retail for €55 (about $74) in the third quarter. The 2730 switches over to the candybar form factor and becomes Nokia's cheapest 3G phone at just €80 (about $108) in the third quarter, while the 7020 follows in the fourth quarter with a concealed external display and 2 megapixel cam.
Low-end Kyocera S1300 candybar survives the FCC
And by "survive," we mean "survives the awful FCC photography clinic." All kidding aside, the photos this time didn't turn out too bad, but maybe that's because this phone is about as plain as plain can get. In fact, we'd suggest this here candybar is just marginally more sophisticated that those incredibly simplistic senior phones, though it does include a tri-band CDMA radio, GPS, speakerphone and a presumably putrid web browser. It's practically a lock for someone like MetroPCS, but we suppose only time will tell.[Via phonescoop]
Nokia's 1209 and 2600 classic, simple and super cheap
Doesn't seem like that long ago that Nokia totally juiced its low-end offerings, but the world of inexpensive ear candy moves just as quickly as the rest of the market -- if not quicker -- and so the fleet is getting rejuvenated just a tad. The 1209 (pictured left) is naturally the lower end of the pair, a phone that Nokia has specifically designed for the concept of "phone sharing" that is largely unique to emerging markets; special features include extra cost tracking apps and separate phonebooks for up to five users. The more interesting of the two is the 2600 classic, featuring interchangeable Xpress-on (wow, it's been a while since we've heard that word) covers, support for MP3 ringtones, a VGA cam, and integrated FM radio. Look for the 1209 to start shipping next quarter for a mere €35 (about $51) while the 2600 classic has already kicked off deliveries for €65 (about $95).
Motorola busts out slew of low-end candybars
From our "never have so many handsets collectively interested us so little" department come these six gems, all Moto candybars from the low-end "W" line that are presumably destined primarily for emerging markets. We've yet to see any press releases detailing exactly what Motorola intends to do with these, but the imagery in its media database pretty much says it all; heck, two of the six even have monochrome displays (and no, they aren't e-ink, either). Four of the handsets -- the W156, W160, W175, and W180 -- do at least carry over the F3's wedge-shaped slim design, while the last two, the W206 and W213, look like they're straight outta 2003. We'll pass on this bunch, but if you want to send us a GSM 850 / 1900 MOTOFONE, guys, be our guest!
Nokia busts out new low-end fleet
Avert your eyes if you're married to S60 -- you'll find nary a smartphone here -- but Nokia's mustered a new slew of devices for emerging markets today that cover the full spectrum of form factors and radio technologies. Starting from the upper left, the lowly 1200 keeps things about as simple as they possibly could be with a throwback monochrome display, 32-chord ringtones, a "dust-resistant" keypad, and an integrated flashlight. The 1208 takes a small step up, swapping out the monochrome screen for a color one but otherwise keeping specs the same. The 1650 moves yet a little more upmarket with a considerably larger screen, though the keypad apparently loses dust resistance in the process. The 2505 is a CDMA (!) flip that maintains the integrated flashlight and rocks downloadable ringtones and wallpapers, a speakerphone, and a handful of integrated games and tools. Onto the second row starting at the left, the 2630 re-ups the 1650's formula and adds Bluetooth, GPRS data, and a VGA cam (heck, this seems like a perfectly decent handset for... uh, emerged markets, let alone emerging ones) -- and get this -- it becomes Nokia's thinnest phone, period, at 9.9 millimeters. The 2660 does the 2630's features in flip form, but loses the cam in the conversion -- but no worries, you can get it back with the 2760. Did ya get all that? Look for all of 'em to launch in the middle of this year in "select markets" for between €35 and €90 ($48 and $123) -- not bad at all, considering those are unsubsidized prices.
UTStarcom shows its low-end cards
They may not turn any heads, but UTStarcom's new low-end fleet led the company's somewhat quiet presence at CTIA last week. The CDM7026 and CDM7076 flips are nearly dead ringers for one another, though the 7076 ups the ante with a black and white external display, TFT primary display (as opposed to the 7026's CSTN), and a VGA cam; features common to both models include 8MB of RAM, 32MB of Flash, MP3 ringtones, and a 3.7 x 1.9 x 0.7-inch outline. Next up, the presently-unnamed "Ultra-Thin, Bar-Style Camera Phone" here comes equipped with Virgin Mobile branding, suggesting it'll follow up the Slice. At just over 10 millimeters thick, the candybar is reasonably well-equipped with 64MB of onboard storage, Bluetooth, speakerphone, voice dialing, and a VGA cam. No word on a release (or what carriers will get the flips, for that matter), but we reckon Virgin and UTStarcom have to look into naming this one before they can be thinking about dropping it.
Sony Ericsson's entry level J110, J120, K200, and K220
It seems Sony Ericsson prefers to use the more pleasant-sounding term "accessible" to describe the most lowly four of the handset barrage it's whipped out ahead of 3GSM, but let's just be straight up and tell it like it is -- these things are cheap. Hey, that's not a bad thing; Europe's number two manufacturer is holding its own on the high end, and we're all about covering every segment of the market. Going in order from left to right, the J110 is the... ahem, most accessible of the four with little more than an anemic 96 x 64 color display to its name. Next up the J120 takes the J110's formula and throws in an FM radio to add an ultra-affordable musicphone (if we dare use the term) to the stable. The K200 ups the display to 128 x 128 and tacks on a VGA cam, while the K220 gets the same FM radio as its cheaper J120 cousin. The J110 and K200 will come in 900 / 1800 and 850 / 1900 flavors for various parts of the globe, while the more expensive models will initially hold to 900 / 1800. Look for all four to hit in the second quarter of the year.
Samsung freshens low end with C140
Once in a great while, it's refreshing to take a step back from the madness of modern phone tech and take a look at the simpler side of mobility -- a segment of the industry where the ability to reliably place and receive calls is the priority, not which mobile TV standard or memory expansion format such-and-such device is supporting. Such is the Samsung C140: a candybar with no camera, no QVGA display (128 x 128 suffices here), and no "world's firsts," just a GSM 900 / 1800 radio with 700KB of memory, MMS, a WAP browser, Java support, and an unwavering desire to be sold contract-free for peanuts. Looks like it's already available in some parts of the world for under €50 (about $65) unsubsidized, which squarely pits this thing against the MOTOFONE. Small color display or e-ink? Decisions, decisions...[Via Unwired View, thanks Staska]
Sony Ericsson shows W200 on the low end
Sony Ericsson may only be teasing us right now on the high end, but the low end's looking a lot clearer today with the introduction of the W200 Walkman phone. The small-but-pudgy candybar just barely qualifies for musicphone status with a meager 27MB of internal storage, though the Memory Stick Micro slot comes in handy for remedying the situation. Other features include a VGA cam, 160 x 128 display, FM radio, and a 900 / 1800 / 1900 or 850 / 1800 / 1900 GSM radio topping out with GPRS data (no EDGE -- now that's low end!). Availability should kick off in the second quarter at an undisclosed price, though we're not too worried about this bad boy pricing itself out of the market. Follow the break for hands-on pics!
CDMA phones to get ultra cheap, too
Anyone else notice that most of the fanfare surrounding the concept of the almost-free unsubsidized handset has been largely restricted to the GSM camp? Sure, we have occasional CDMA examples like Kyocera's K122 and K132 -- but with all due respect to Kyocera, cooler looking GSM goodies like the MOTOFONE have been generating just a bit more buzz. No worries, though; a handful of scrappy Korean startups are looking to correct the imbalance, committing to deliver $30 handsets utilizing CDMA2000 1x radios (no EV-DO, we're guessing) to India starting in December of this year with other Southeast Asian countries hopping on the bandwagon in '07. According to Rose Telecom, one of the startups involved in the initiative, the phones should take another dive to the $20 mark in 2008. We can almost sense American prepaid MVNOs expressing interest already.Update: A resourceful reader has pointed out that Motorola's also offering a CDMA variant of the MOTOFONE, which clearly raises the bar for style in the CDMA emerging markets segment. The Korean folks still look to have a slight edge on pricing here -- but with Motorola having suggested that we'll be seeing $15 handsets by '08, they may not for long. [Thanks, Rich]
Samsung abandoning low-end market in India?
In a move that has to have the MOTOFONE's product manager grinning from ear to ear, it seems Samsung has decided that the fight for India's low- and ultra-low-end market isn't worth fighting anymore. If Telecom Korea's unnamed sources are to be trusted, the increasing introduction of smartphones to the country (combined with ever-increasing demand for them) is apparently pushing prices on basic handsets down to the point where the Korean company is ready to take its ball and go home. Don't worry, though, India; Samsung's not leaving you -- not by a long shot. Besides the recent introduction of the SGH-P310 credit card phone there, the company apparently intends to continue launching "color and camera phones" to satisfy Indians' rising demand for upscale products.[Via Mobile Magazine]
Nokia 6030 hits T-Mobile
It took a good while, but Nokia's bottom-of-the-barrel 6030 candybar has finally found its way onto T-Mobile. We don't have much to say about the simple handset; T-Mobile's offering it on contract for a big, round goose egg, but by modern standards, we almost feel like "free" is too much to pay for a phone whose banner feature is its speakerphone. Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to go back to staring in awe at the N95's spec sheet.[Thanks, Steve T.]
Kyocera K122 and K132 bring ultra low end to CDMA
Handset announcements from the floor of this fall's CTIA have come surprisingly few and far between, but Kyocera took the opportunity to show off two new entry-level handsets targeted primarily at international CDMA markets. The K132 clamshell is the "premium" device of the two -- and we use that term very loosely here -- featuring a color display, speakerphone, support for the 800 and 1900MHz bands, and a "soft touch" finish. The bare bones K122 strips away virtually every nonessential feature, leaving a basic, single-band candybar with a grayscale display. In this whole emerging markets game, we'd take a MOTOFONE any day over the K122, though we suspect the latter will find its way into consumer's hands sooner; expect both the K122 and its K132 sibling to drop before winter sets in.
Virgin Mobile keeps it simple with Kyocera "Oystr"
Want Virgin Mobile service? Got 30 bucks? Kyocera's got you covered. The 3.5oz back-to-basics Oystr -- no "e" -- offers a color internal display, speakerphone, "Superphonic" ringtones, and that's about it. Some of us might be quickly overcome with a bad case of feature starvation, but at least the pearl white clamshell (hence the name) doesn't look half bad -- and for an honest $30 with no contract, we'll forego the typical grousing about the lack of external display.[Thanks, Roy]
Motorola launches i670 for Nextel
Moto sure is giving its iDEN-only product line a healthy sendoff before CDMA hybrid handsets start to drop later this year. Besides the upcoming high-end i880 and the virtually indestructible (we'll eat those words, we're sure) i580, Nextel looks to shore up their low end by adding the i670, a basic clamshell whose main selling point appears to be its "color display." Of course, no-frills is a big selling point among some Nextel clientele, so the phone should find its niche. Other features include Direct Talk (off-network walkie talkie) support, speakerphone, and a reasonable $49.99 price tag on two-year contract.[Via phoneArena]
